


Elementary My Dear Kururugi

by spirithorse



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-06-12
Updated: 2014-11-26
Packaged: 2017-10-20 08:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 18,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/210935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spirithorse/pseuds/spirithorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of ficlets messing with the idea of Sherlock!Lelouch and Watson!Suzaku. Will be taking from the BBC series Sherlock, some of the book canon and the 2009 movie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nothing Gold Can Stay

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a challenge to write on certain lines from Robert Frost poems and then kind of evolved into it's own story line. It's kind of an experiment in writing a story based on a prompt and completely out of order. As such, the chapters will be a bit out of order so I'll be playing around with them while posting. Sorry if it confuses any of you, but I'm being experimental with my writing. The challenges that I took this from are the Robert Frost challenge, the 50 Love Quotes Challenge and a 100 themes challenge.

  
_“Nothing gold can stay.” – Nothing Gold Can Stay_   


He woke up suddenly at the sound of shouting.

Lelouch stared at the bright wallpaper, considering the punishment if his mother found him out of bed this late, before slipping out from underneath the covers. He fumbled in the dark for a pair of socks, the floor cold against his feet as he stumbled to the door. Lelouch paused long enough to slip on his socks before opening his door, holding his breath.

His mother had been up all of last night with Nunnally, his sister suffering ungracefully through the stomach flu. Lelouch himself had been sent to his room early, shuffling off in the face of his mother’s exhausted anger. Hopefully it would be better tomorrow, Nunnally would be over her sickness and his mother could finally sleep.

That still didn’t explain the shouting.

Lelouch narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to the wall. Maybe one of his father’s wives had found them, the ex-wives never yelled like this. He had overheard his father and mother talking, heard that his father told his wives that he had a mistress, because his position as prince, and later emperor, wouldn’t allow him to marry a commoner, not during such a turbulent time. Apparently they all agreed, because they married him. But they seemed to forget about their promises when his mother brought them to court to see their father. Their appearance on their birthdays had led to most of the divorces of Charles zi Britannia.

Maybe the most recent wife had found out about the mistress that his father kept and decided to try and bully her into giving him up, something that his mother wouldn’t do. But it wouldn’t help his mother’s mood. And, as the man of the house- as his father had told him he was many times before- he had to protect his mother.

Lelouch carefully padded down the stairs, skipping the ninth and fourth ones because they creaked. He paused at the base of the stairs, staring into the kitchen.

There was a light on, strange at this time of night. Rolo was already asleep, having just gotten over the stomach flue that he had given to Nunnally. Nunnally would be in bed, getting what little sleep that she could and his mother should have been sleeping also, unless she was up worrying about money again. Lelouch sighed and shook his head, pushing away from the wall and walking towards the kitchen. They both knew that his father was more than willing to help make ends meet, it was the least that he could do for the woman who was raising his children, and he had more than enough money for it. Marianne was just too proud to take it sometimes. But, his mother was always saying that money was tight now, so it wouldn’t hurt to ask his father for little things.

He paused outside of the kitchen doorway, glancing back at the stairs before clearing his throat, hoping that it would alert his mother enough. She couldn’t possibly be mad at him for worrying about her. When she didn’t answer Lelouch stepped into the room. “Mom?”

No one answered, Lelouch frowning and looking towards where their small table was, hidden by the counter. His mother would usually sit there, either worrying over taxes or drinking a cup of tea before bed, but she wasn’t there tonight. And the light in the kitchen wouldn’t have been on if she wasn’t down here, nor would the window have been open.

Lelouch froze, staring at the curtains as they fluttered. The window was never open because it opened to an alley and Nunnally had showed an alarming tendency to climb onto the counter. It shouldn’t have been open now, not while they were asleep.

He wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. “Mom?”

Lelouch darted forward, pressing himself up against the counter and using that as cover as he edged around towards the window. He would shut it and then run upstairs to check if his mother was up there with Nunnally. Maybe she had opened it up to get a bit of fresh air into the house and then had been distracted when Nunnally had thrown up again. That had to be it, she had just gotten distracted.

He swallowed before turning the corner, reaching up to put his hand on the counter only to freeze as he saw the body splayed out on the floor. Lelouch immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, his gaze dropping to the pool of blood on the floor. A moment later, he was on his knees, pressed back against the counter and shivering.

This was just a dream, a bad dream. He would wake up and his mother would be there. She would smile and stroke his hair and tell him it was just a dream and that dreams couldn’t hurt him.

Lelouch took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The body hadn’t moved, the blood was still there. His mother was still dead.

He let out a sob, crawling over to his mother, shaking her shoulder even though he knew that it wouldn’t do any good. “Get up. Get up, please. This isn’t funny!” He stared at her for a moment before panicking. He didn’t know what to do, his mother was dead,Rolo was asleep, Nunnally was sick and he didn’t know what to do. There was only one person that he could turn to.

Lelouch stumbled over to the phone on the wall, pulling the phone from its cradle and quickly calling the number that was posted on the side of the fridge, the one right under the doctor’s phone number. He pressed the phone to his ear, breathing heavily as he waited for someone to pick up.

It was a direct line, his mother had told him that when she had posted the number on the fridge. There wasn’t a chance of being hung up on because of who he was.

Lelouch was swaying in place by the time someone answered, falling to the floor at the sound of the familiar voice. “Marianne?”

“Dad.”

“Lelouch?” His father sounded more awake now, Lelouch reaching up with his free hand to wipe the tears from his face. “Lelouch, why are you calling this late?”

“It’s Mom.”

“Marianne? What happened?”

“She’s…” Lelouch stared at the body on the floor, letting out a squeak when he saw that his mother’s eyes were still open and staring at him. “She’s dead! Someone killed her!”


	2. Into My Own

_“They would not find me changed from him they knew—Only more sure of all I thought was true.” – Into My Own_

‘Still has trust issues’. Suzaku snorted, carefully weaving his way through the crowd and away from his therapist’s building. She had written ‘Still has trust issues’. Of course, that was his fault for reading her writing upside down. But his question had been to draw her attention away from what she had been writing underneath it; ‘Suicid-‘

He _knew_ about his suicidal tendencies, he was the one living with them. He was the one living with the nightmares and the constant nagging thought that it should have been him. A thousand times over it should have been him instead of the guy next to him, the man behind him or the frightened boy he had been struggling to stop from bleeding out. But they had still died, and no amount of therapy or blogging about his time as a soldier would change that.

Suzaku sighed and leaned on his cane, shifting the weight off of his right leg, trying to hide his wince. It would probably hold for the quick walk through the park that he had in mind before he returned to his small flat and continue the search for somewhere to live and a job. Pendragon was an expensive city to live in with an army pension, but he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. It was where he had earned his freedom from his father, where he could be Suzaku and not Kururugi Suzaku, son of the Prime Minister of Japan.

He crossed the road with the rest of the crowd, slowing down when he reached the sidewalk and walked into the park that was his destination, not bothering to pay attention to the grand statues of the Britannian emperors that were scattered around, a memorial to a time when Britannia had controlled the world, not that they didn’t now. They were just more subtle about it.

Suzaku settled into a comfortable pace, trying to ignore the pain in his leg as he walked. He just wanted a single moment to clear his head, a time when he wasn’t thinking about fighting in the Middle Eastern Federation. He could worry about all of that when he was forced to go home. Then he could answer all of the messages from Kaguya that were filling up his phone.

“Hey, Kururugi!” He jerked at the shout, about to drop to a crouch when he recognized the blond man that was running towards him. Suzaku let out a shaky sigh, slowly lifting a hand to wave at Gino as his friend ran over. “I thought that was you! Man, it’s been years.”

“Yeah,” Suzaku’s gaze strayed down to the empty sleeve that hung down against Gino’s left side, “years.”

Gino wrapped his right arm around Suzaku’s shoulders, the familiar motion relaxing Suzaku even as he was guided over to a bench. “Imagine us meeting here? I thought you were going to be shipped back to Japan.”

“I don’t want to go back. There’s nothing there.”

“Family?” Suzaku winced, feeling Gino’s arm shift on his shoulders. “Right, sorry. So you’re staying in Pendragon?”

“Couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”

“Good. I expect you to keep in contact, it’s been too long.” Gino beamed at him before letting out a laugh. “It’s really good to see you whole.”

Suzaku’s gaze strayed to the empty sleeve, a reminder of one of his failures. Gino had been shot and then broke his arm when he had fallen. Suzaku had tried to set the break, but they had been forced to keep moving constantly for nearly a week. By then, gangrene had already set in, the constant movement causing the hasty set that Suzaku did every night to fail. When they had gotten to base, Suzaku had held Gino down as they amputated the arm at the shoulder before sending Gino back home to his family.

“Suzaku?” He jumped, realizing that Gino had been talking to him. Suzaku looked away, feeling a blush rise to his face. He had been caught staring at Gino’s injury, something that annoyed him to no end now that he was back in civilization. He just wanted to punch everyone who stared at his injured leg because of the looks of pity that were sent his way. He didn’t deserve their pity.

He licked his lips, speaking to break the silence between them. “H-how are you getting along?”

“Great!” Suzaku looked up as Gino leaned back, raising an eyebrow at the wide smile on the blond’s face. “Being a war hero really draws in the girls.”

“Gino…”

“I’m not letting the fame get to my head. But it’s been good, considering how much I can do.” Gino sobered for a minute, staring at the ground. “I had to leave home because they kept talking about me like I was already dead. So I got out, found a job and a girl.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

“I’m sure you’ll get her.”

“Of course.” Suzaku chuckled at the confidence in his friend’s voice, leaning back against the back of the bench and closing his eyes.

A poke to his side had him opening one eye, Gino looking at him with a serious expression. “What about you?”

“Well,” Suzaku stretched out his bad leg, flinching at the spark of pain that ran over his nerves, “they’ve got me with a therapist for the transition over, but I’ve been declared safe.” He rolled his eyes at that, Gino mimicking the move. “So I just have to get a job and find a better flat that the two room place they’ve got me in. They need somewhere to put the next guy.”

“Pendragon is expensive.”

“Tell me about it.” Suzaku let out a harsh laugh, ignoring the surprise on Gino’s face. “But who’d want a crippled, ex-soldier as a flat mate? I’d be too much of a nuisance.”

He was surprised when Gino laughed, watching as his friend scratched the back of his head. “Funny story about that.”

“Funny story about what?”

Gino stood up and grabbed Suzaku’s arm, pulling him up to his feet. “Come on. I want you to meet someone.” When Suzaku shot him a skeptical look, Gino just smiled his trademark smile, tugging on Suzaku’s arm again. “Come on, trust me.”

Suzaku froze at those two words, glancing back over at his therapist’s building. This wasn’t what she had meant when she had written down ‘Still has trust issues’, but it was his petty way of getting her back. “Alright.”

The word wasn’t even completely out of his mouth before he was being dragged across the park, Suzaku nearly falling over before he caught himself, easily falling into step beside Gino despite the fast pace. He managed to escape Gino’s hold, gripping the top of his cane tightly as he listened to the blond man talk. “Hopefully he’s still there, although you never know. It does make it easier to find him.”

“What?”

“Just wait. It’s going to be a surprise.”

Suzaku bit back his response to that, knowing very well that he had a fifty-fifty chance of the surprise being good or bad with Gino. Either way, he supposed that he was still getting something done today.


	3. Introduction

** Introduction **

Lelouch looked up as the two men walked into the lab at the college. He raised an eyebrow as he recognized Gino, turning back to his work. Gino was probably going to attempt to talk to him again. Lelouch was not in the mood for his cheer.

Nunnally and Rolo’s birthday was in three days, and he was going to miss it again because he had failed. Their mother’s killer was still out there and they were still separated. He couldn’t go back until he was sure that they would be safe.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead, trying to fight back the headache that was stirring. He just wanted to be alone so he could finish up his work here, report it to the police and then get back to the few files he had on the investigation of his mother’s death. If he could find one more clue or cross off one more suspect, then he would have accomplished something.

“And this is Lelouch. He’s working on becoming a permanent fixture to this lab.” Lelouch looked up, shooting a glare at Gino as the blond gestured to him.

“I’m busy, Gino. What do you want?”

“Nothing. Just showing an old buddy around.”

Lelouch noticed the man by Gino’s side then, giving the man a cursory glance before lowering his gaze back to the culture under the microscope. There was only one reason that Gino would be here after seeing Lelouch storming around the building earlier. “I see. And you think we’d be good flat mates?”

“Flat mates?” The man spoke for the first time, Lelouch jumping at the Japanese accent that he had. He narrowed his eyes and risked another glance at the man. Lelouch had assumed that he was Britannian on first glance, because of the green eyes. But his assumptions had gotten him trouble more than once. Lelouch pushed away from his microscope as the man turned to glare at Gino. “What did you tell him?”

“Nothing.”

Lelouch tipped his head to the side, standing up and walking towards them, his attention focused on the man.

Gino’s friend was tanned, but Lelouch caught a glimpse of paler skin when the man straightened out an arm. Then there was the way that the man held himself, at a casual form of parade rest. It was subtle but still there, the carefully controlled tension that screamed military. Another clue to him being in the military was the messy brown hair. There were spots where it stuck out more, like it was still growing in from the short military cut. Body type too was a clue, Lelouch getting glimpses of muscles despite the man’s skinny frame.

So this wasn’t just an old buddy of Gino’s but a friend from the war. Lelouch glanced over at Gino, raising an eyebrow. But that didn’t mean much; Gino had been on a few campaigns before he had been sent back home after losing an arm. But the only campaign that Gino had fought in as a soldier and not overseen as a noble would have been the war in the Middle Eastern Confederation, which would explain the tan on the man.

An old friend from the war, who was Japanese.

That last bit didn’t sit quite right with Lelouch. The man was too tall to be Japanese, just a few inches short of Lelouch, which meant that he had to be, at most, 5’9”. Then there were those eyes. No Japanese person that he knew had green eyes, it was too uncommon. Of course, there could be some genetic mixing in this man’s family that could have cropped up.

Lelouch frowned as he realized that all of this was sounding familiar. He crossed his arms over his chest, closing his eyes as he tried to remember. He had heard something on the news, both while his mother was still alive and afterward, news about Japan and their government. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter for a moment before allowing them to open again, a smirk crossing his face.

Sure of himself, he held out a hand to the man. “Nice to meet you Kururugi Suzaku.”

The man started, that enough to show that Lelouch’s theory had been correct. But he still reached out to take Lelouch’s hand to shake it.

“How did…Did you tell him?”

“I didn’t tell him anything.” Gino was grinning at him. “Lelouch just knows these things.”

“You make it sound like magic.” Lelouch chuckled, letting go of Suzaku’s hand. “It was easy, your accent and eyes gave it away Suzaku. There was quite a scandal over your appearance when you were younger, and when you decided to join the military.”

Suzaku’s mouth was hanging open at this point, Lelouch smiling as he let go of Suzaku’s hand. “Thank you, Gino; you just saved me an afternoon.”

“My pleasure. Just go easy on him.”

“I can assure you that I have no intention of harming him.” Lelouch gave Suzaku another quick look before walking back over to where his belongs were, beginning to pack up. He had everything that he needed from here, now all that was left was to make two phone calls, one to the police and one to Milly. “If that is all, I’ll see you, Suzaku, at the flat tomorrow.”

“Wait.” Lelouch froze as Suzaku reached out to grab his arm. He turned to look at the man, surprised at the anger on Suzaku’s face. Then again, it was probably from being found out. Lelouch turned to face Suzaku watching as the man calmed down. “I don’t know who you are or where we are meeting?”

“We’re meeting at 221 Baker Street, in Old Town Pendragon. And my name is Lelouch.”

“Lelouch?”

“Lelouch Lamperouge.” Lelouch gently pried Suzaku’s fingers from his arm. He tucked his folders his arms, sweeping the culture from under the microscope. With his free hand, he switched the light of the microscope off, using that same hand to wave at Gino as he left the lab.


	4. The Pasture

_“I shan’t be gone long – you come too.” – The Pasture_

Suzaku settled down in the chair in the flat, looking around at the empty bookshelves and walls, feeling himself relax. At first, he had thought that Gino had made a mistake introducing him to Lelouch Lamperouge, but it looked like the two of them would work out. Lelouch seemed content to stick to his own work, which was fine with Suzaku. He was still adjusting to the life of a civilian. And, with the way that Lelouch had walked out of the flat, Suzaku was sure that his work with the police would be enough to keep him occupied.

Which just left him at loose ends.

Suzaku sighed and leaned back in the chair, wondering how he was going to get his stuff moved over here. He could always ask Gino to help, but that would just be cruel.

He started as Milly Ashford poked her head in, giving him a smile before walking into the room. “Like it.”

“Close enough to perfect.”

“Ah, good. Does your boyfriend agree though?”

Suzaku tried to shoot her a glare, the expression not seeming to phase their landlady. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Of course not.” She winked at him and walked out of the room, Suzaku shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

Perhaps it would have been easier if he had just moved in with Gino, but then he would have gotten kicked out again when Gino had finally managed to convince that girl he was seeing to move in with him. In reality, Gino wouldn’t have minded him staying, but Suzaku would have kicked himself out, he would have just felt like a third wheel.

A creak from a floorboard had Suzaku reaching for his cane and struggling to stand, staring at Lelouch as he leaned against the doorframe. His flat mate didn’t look up at him, staring down at his leg. “Psychosomatic limp.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s what my therapist told me.”

“She’s right.” Lelouch tipped his head so it rested against the doorframe, a smirk on his face. “It probably won’t go away for a while with the way you’re going.”

Suzaku tightened his grip on the cane, gritting his teeth. “So, what are you suggesting?”

“Let’s try another treatment.” Lelouch pushed away from the doorframe, holding out a hand. “Shall we?”

He didn’t hesitate, limping over to Lelouch and following him out the door.


	5. A Servant to Servant

_“It’s got so I don’t know if I’m glad, sorry, or anything.” –A Servant to Servant_

Suzaku reached up to fix the blanket from where it hung around Lelouch’s shoulders, surprised when Lelouch slapped his hands away. The man stared at him for a moment before grabbing his wrists and towing him away from the flashing lights from the ambulance and the police cars, nearly throwing him against the wall of an alley. “You did that.”

“Did what?”

It was surprising easy to play dumb, Suzaku continuing to stare at Lelouch while keeping his expression blank. He had gotten good and pretending that nothing was wrong over the past year.

Lelouch glared at him before glancing back to the police cars. “You shot him before I could take the pill.”

“And if I did?”

His flat mate stared at him, Suzaku surprised to see incomprehension on Lelouch’s face. “What about your whole moral code of not hurting civilians or letting everyone live?” Suzaku shrugged, surprised when Lelouch lunged forward to grab his shirt and force him closer against the wall. “Why?!”

“You were in danger.”

“You could have hit somewhere less fatal!”

Suzaku stared at Lelouch, trying to come to terms with that himself. He _could have_ hit the cab driver elsewhere without worrying about hitting Lelouch, but he hadn’t. He had just aimed at the heart and pulled the trigger. And he had done all of that without feeling anything. Even now he didn’t know what he felt, there was just nothing. Maybe all his years fighting had done something to him, made it impossible for him to feel anything when he was facing an enemy or killing them. Or maybe he was so messed up from childhood that he couldn’t feel anything at all.

He ended up shrugging, not knowing what to say. “It was quicker.”

Lelouch let go of him, eyeing him warily before straightening the blanket around his shoulders. “Thanks.”

Suzaku just nodded, letting Lelouch lead the way back to their flat.


	6. The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans

_"You are right in thinking that he is under the British government. You would also be right in a sense if you said that occasionally he_ is _the British government."-The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans_

There was a strange car parked in front of the building where their flat was.

Normally, Suzaku would have ignored it, but he was still high on adrenalin from chasing Lelouch through the streets of Pendragon and shooting the cab driver that was trying to poison his friend. He gave the black car a sideways glance before following Lelouch inside.

He froze at the base of the stairs, staring at their door. It was slightly ajar, just enough to let a thin crack of light into the hall. Someone was in their flat.

Suzaku narrowed his eyes and bounded up the stairs. He grabbed Lelouch before the man could protest, shoving Lelouch behind him as he took out his hand gun. He didn’t want to use it again because he didn’t want to kill and because he didn’t want the feeling that he had done the right thing by shooting another person. He shook his head and motioned for Lelouch to keep back, creeping up to the door and easing it open.

He had just begun to search for signs of people hiding in the shadows of their flat when the door was pulled completely open, Suzaku tumbling to the floor. The gun skittered out of his hands and into the kitchen, Suzaku already making a lunge for it when he felt the gentle pressure of a foot on his back. “I wouldn’t be doing that Suzaku Kururugi.”

His eyes widened. He recognized that voice.

Suzaku turned his head, staring at the blue eyed man that hovered over him. “You.”

The man waved, stepping away from him as Lelouch walked into the flat. His friend stopped short, narrowing his eyes. “Kanon, why are you…” Lelouch walked further into the flat, staring at someone who was in their small sitting room. “Damn it.”

“Is that any way to treat your brother, Lelouch?”

Suzaku scrambled to his feet, giving Kanon a glare before rushing over to stand by Lelouch. He didn’t have time to run and get his gun, but he was sure he was faster than the man in the hall. Even if that failed, he had his army training to fall back on.

All thoughts of fighting off the attackers stopped when he saw the blond man that was reclining in his chair, feeling his stomach roll.

The man smiled as he noticed him. “Ah, Warrant Officer Suzaku Kururugi, a pleasure to meet you again.”

Suzaku mumbled his own reply as Lelouch looked between the two of them. “When…How…”

“Earlier today when you were looking for that pink suitcase.”

Lelouch stared at Suzaku before groaning and rubbing his hands over his face. “How much did you offer this time?”

The man in the chair smiled. “Is that any way to say hello to your brother?”

“You’re my half brother.” Suzaku startled at that, glancing between Lelouch and the man. He could see some facial similarities, but nothing else that would prove they were related. “And a _normal_ person would call or wait in the car for us to get home, not break into the flat!”

“Oh, Lelouch…”

“And, if you really cared about me, you wouldn’t keep trying to bribe my flatmates.”

The man glanced at Suzaku, the soldier fighting his urge to snap to attention. Suzaku slumped with relief when the man looked away. “I just worry about you, Lelouch. You are, after all a prince.”

Lelouch laughed. “No, Schneizel, I’m the bastard son of the ninety-eighth emperor of Britannia. I’m not a prince.”

Suzaku blinked. “You’re the-”

“Suzaku, if you finish that sentence, you’re sleeping in the hall.” Lelouch gave him a pointed look before sitting down on the sofa. Suzaku hesitated for a moment before walking over to him, remaining standing by the edge of the sofa. Lelouch smiled at that before turning his attention back to Schneizel. “I appreciate you looking after Rolo and Nunnally for me, but I can take care of myself.”

“And you’ve proven that so well.”

Lelouch narrowed his eyes at his half brother. “Schneizel, I don’t need you hanging over my shoulder all of the time, and I don’t need you hiring spies to check up on me. You’re busy enough as it is, running the empire.”

Suzaku twitched, paling when Schneizel turned to look at him. “Oh, I see Lelouch hasn’t filled you in on many things.” Schneizel pulled out a pocket watch, glancing at the time before sighing and snapping it shut. “But I’m afraid this visit will have to be kept short. To put it bluntly, Warrant Officer Kururugi, I offered you money to keep my brother safe before, but now it’s an order. See to it that he’s kept safe, or you will wish that you had never met me. Good-night.”

Schneizel stood up and walked out of the door, Kanon following behind him.

Lelouch remained calm and composed until they were out of the flat, then he broke, leaning forward and running a hand through his hair.

Suzaku was quick to reclaim his chair, flopping down in it. They sat in silence for a moment before Suzaku had to speak. “Does he have the authority to kill me?”

Lelouch looked up with a wane smile. “You know how they say Odysseus is the Prime Minister? Well, it’s a lie. Schneizel may be officially in charge of diplomatic relations, both above and below the table, but he might as well be Prime Minister. It was only because he was the second prince born that he missed out on his true calling. Now, he just uses his power to spy on me.”

“And…you’re a prince?”

Lelouch shook his head. “I may have royal blood, but I’m illegitimate, like my brother and sister. Father would bring us to court to see him, but we never stayed there and he never bothered to recognize us as his heirs.”

“Why not?”

“Commoners.” Lelouch shrugged. “Our mother was a commoner and so were we. It was an acceptable dalliance for an emperor. And then there was…” Lelouch frowned, glancing at Suzaku before standing up and walking into the kitchen. “Well, a few scandals, so he couldn’t recognize us. And I like it better this way.”

Suzaku turned around, surprised to see Lelouch holding his gun. He grinned sheepishly, Lelouch shaking his head. “Keep this hidden, Suzaku. I don’t want Schneizel to think he has an invitation back here.”

“R-right.” Suzaku stood up and retrieved his gun from Lelouch. “I’m off to bed then.”

“Too much excitement?” Lelouch gave him a partial smile, Suzaku not sure how to respond. In the end, he just nodded and started walking away. A nervous cough stopped him on the stairs, Suzaku turning to look at Lelouch. “Thank you. For what you did back there.”

Suzaku smiled to himself. “You knew which was poison and which wasn’t, didn’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” Suzaku nodded slowly. “That’s good.”

“Good night, Suzaku.”

“Night Lelouch.”


	7. The Code

_“’He is a fool if that’s the way he takes me.” –The Code_

Lelouch leaned back against a desk in the police station, watching the officers mill around. He spared a glance over at Suzaku, the ex-solider looking more relaxed than Lelouch had ever seen him. Lelouch sighed and shifted his weight, flexing the fingers of his left hand before setting the hand back on the desk. “It would be much easier if they just came up and told me that they needed my help. Less of this waiting around.”

“Well, they have their pride.”

“They’re all idiots.”

“Maybe.”

Lelouch would never know how Suzaku managed to think well of all people, especially since he had just come back from a war. He just supposed it was just Suzaku being himself, although it was interesting enough watching the soldier come out of his shell. “If they want this solved, then they’d ask me.”

“Some of them think that you did it.” He tensed, staring at Suzaku as the solder shrugged, shifting the weight from his bad leg. “I don’t believe it, but they have compelling evidence that you’d want to kill someone one day.”

“So would everyone. I’m sure there’s someone that you want to kill.” Lelouch narrowed his eyes and looked around at the people rushing through the offices. Nina had probably been the one to tip Suzaku off, but that was just like Nina, she was frightened of everyone, especially those with the motive for murder. It was why she worked with forensics. “It’s perfectly natural.”

“She said you were a sociopath.”

“She’s lying.”

“I know.” His mouth dropped open as he turned to stare at Suzaku, watching the man smile at him. Suzaku just shrugged. “My commanding officer was a sociopath, and you are _nothing_ like him. I’d say you’re just shut down emotionally.”

“Official diagnosis?” Lelouch didn’t know why he wanted to smile as he said that; maybe it was because Suzaku was the first person to not suspect him of committing the crime. And it felt good to have someone trust him for once.


	8. Mending Wall

_“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That wants it down.” – Mending Wall_

Suzaku came down the small set of rickety stairs that led from his room, looking their small main room, not surprised to find that Lelouch was sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep. He shook his head and limped over to the chair, grabbing the blanket that was folded over the back before throwing it over Lelouch and limping into the kitchen.

After riffling through the fridge to see what they had, and concluding that they –and by they, Suzaku meant _he_ –would have to go out and get groceries, Suzaku settled down to a cup of tea and a piece of toast for breakfast. He eyed the fruit in the basket on the table. Milly must had probably brought those by, possibly because she had seen him limping around. Suzaku sighed and took another sip of his tea, leaning back in his chair.

His limp was only partially psychosomatic, a combination of the bullet wound to his shoulder that he had gotten fighting in the war and a broken leg from when he was seven and thought he was invincible. Thankfully, Lelouch’s dubious treatment of forcing him into dangerous situations had gotten rid of the psychosomatic aspect of his limp. Although it still acted up on cold mornings like this one.

Suzaku was reaching out to grab an apple, finally giving into the temptation, when he heard a groan from the sofa, smirking as he watched Lelouch sit up. It was surprisingly amusing to see the usually calm and collected man in a state of disarray, the blanket partially hanging from his shoulder and his hair a mess. Suzaku chuckled to himself and stood up, tossing the apple into the air as he walked over to lean against the back of the chair.

Lelouch glanced at him for a moment, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “What time is it?”

“Eight. I slept in.” Suzaku had to add that last part, just for the look of disgust on Lelouch’s face.

His flat mate grumbled and flopped back to the couch, pulling the blanket over his head again. “Too early.”

“Says you.” Suzaku took a bite of his apple, watching as Lelouch curled further under the blanket. “Just how late were you up last night?”

“Six.”

“Lelouch!”

“I was working.”

That was always his excuse. Suzaku frowned and walked around the chair to sit in it, stretching out his leg. “And that makes how many hours of sleep this week?”

The lump on the sofa shifted a bit, Suzaku glancing over just in time to see Lelouch peek out from under the blanket before the man flipped to his other side. “Two.”

“Two? Lelouch!” He stood up and walked over to where Lelouch was curled up on the couch, ripping the blanket off. “You’ve only slept once this week.”

“I’ve been working on important things.”

“The cases?” Suzaku glanced over at the desk where the ever present box sat, but with no sign of the notebook and laptop that would come out when Lelouch was working on a case for the police. “Lelouch, those cases aren’t important.”

“They are.”

“They’re not worth this.”

“They are!” Lelouch stood up, glaring at Suzaku and using his two inches of height difference of loom over him. “How else am I going to get the police to trust me? How else am I going to get access to their files? How else am I supposed to figure out who killed my mother?!”

Suzaku took a step back, watching as Lelouch panted for breath after his outburst, sure that his own mouth had dropped open in shock. He hadn’t known. For the two months that he had lived here with Lelouch he hadn’t known. Then again, he had never asked.

Lelouch shot him another glare, this one lacking the ferocity of the others that had been leveled at him, before flopping back to the couch. He curled up again, facing the back of the couch and proceeding to ignore Suzaku.

He knew he should do something then. Lelouch may decide to ignore the rules of ediquette for his own purposes, but that didn’t mean Suzaku had to. But then there was the question of what to _do_ , social interaction wasn’t something that he had been particularly good at since he had left the army.

In the end, Suzaku just let the blanket drop to the floor and walked up to his room. It wasn’t the right decision, but it was easier.


	9. While You Sleep

_"Find someone who will stay awake just to watch you sleep."_

_They were crouched behind a building, all of them exhausted from the dashes through the city under heavy fire. Suzaku glanced to his right, staring at the young boy who was sprawled out on the ground, one man putting pressure on the bullet wound while the other muffled his moans. They couldn’t afford to be found now. They were almost to the rendezvous point, and then they would be taken out of here._

 _Suzaku bit his lip and looked out towards the seemingly deserted street. It was at times like these that he missed Gino._

 _He jumped at the sound of gunfire, scanning the road ahead of them, only to have one of the other men tug at his sleeve. Suzaku stared at the man as he tried to speak, finally snapping out of whatever haze held him as the man shook him and pointed at the machines looming over the houses. “Knightmares!”_

 _Suzaku stared at the machines. They weren’t like the Britannian Knightmares, there were all cobbled together out of what people could find. They weren’t elegant, but they were equally as deadly._

 _He shook his head, glancing at his commanding officer as the man gave the order to move out. Suzaku swallowed back his argument. Just because the way ahead looked clear didn’t mean it was, and there was a chance that the Knightmares hadn’t spotted them yet. If they moved, they would be spotted._

 _“Ready?” All of the men nodded, and then ran out into a slaughter._

Suzaku twisted on his bed, muttering the names of his squad and warnings. He never felt the bed sink under the weight of another person.

 _There were gunshots and screaming and blood everywhere._

 _Suzaku stumbled over pieces of rubble, staggering to his feet to continue running. They only had to get out of the city and their Knightmares would be waiting for them. He just had to get beyond those houses._

 _He turned to help another man behind his pile of rubble, listening to the bullets as they ricocheted off the stone. Suzaku took a deep breath and gestured towards the desert, the man beside him nodding slowly. They would continue to dash from one bit of cover to the next and pick up members of their squad as they found them, the few lucky who had managed to survive the initial barrage from the Knightmares._

 _Suzaku rechecked his gun before sprinting for the last few houses, twisting around to shoot at the snipers that had positioned themselves above. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some limping stragglers, members of his squad making for the next object that would cover them. It was no longer an orderly retreat. It was chaos._

“No. Please no.” Suzaku whimpered, thrashing as he tried to escape the blankets that he had wrapped around him.

 _They weren’t there._

 _Suzaku stumbled out beyond the last house to stare at the empty desert, his heart sinking. They had been promised Knightmares to help them take care of the last of the resistance, and they weren’t there. They could have been delayed, but they would have called._

 _He stumbled forward another step, glancing at the three men who had eventually followed him out of the death trap that the city had become. All of them had the exact same confused and frightened expression on their faces. If the Knightmares weren’t here, then they were all doomed. They would either die or be taken prisoner, and no Britannian would attempt to free honorary Britannians from enemy clutches, not when there were purebloods and nobles to free._

 _“There!”_

 _Suzaku jumped at the shout, turning to where one of the men had pointed. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun, smiling as she saw the cloud of dust approaching. Every once and a while, he could see a bit of purple or the sun gleaming off the Factspheres._

 _“Sutherlands. They brought Sutherlands!”_

 _Suzaku smiled widely with the rest of them, turning to the one person who had managed to drag along the radio equipment. The man was quickly set up with the rest of them guarding him, telling the Knightmares where they were and to watch out for enemy Knightmares._

 _It was a good idea to protect their one radio operator and equipment, because the shot that had torn through Suzaku’s shoulder would have gone through the other man’s head._

“Oh God! Shit!” Suzaku, still asleep, clutched at his shoulder, unaware of the gentle hands that tugged him out of his fetal position. “Don’t let me die. Please, don’t let me die. I don’t want to die, not like this.”

“Sh.” A hand brushed through his hair, continuing the gentle strokes until Suzaku’s shaking stopped. Slowly, Suzaku uncurled further, his hand slipping from his shoulder as he fell back asleep.

 _”Have you been watching me all night?” Suzaku looked over his shoulder at where Gino was splayed out over the ground, the sleeve where his arm used to be rolled up to the shoulder to expose the stump. He flinched, but didn’t look away._

 _“Yes.”_

 _Gino grinned and reached out with his arm to pat Suzaku’s side, the only part of Suzaku he could reach. “Thanks.”_

 _Suzaku grinned back._


	10. The Tuft of Flowers

_“’Men work together,’ I told him from the heart, ‘Whether they work together or apart.’” –The Tuft of Flowers_

Suzaku sighed as he entered the locker room, carefully taking off the jacket that he had to wear while on guard duty before hanging it up. It could probably go another day without a wash, just like the rest of his uniform. A security guard at a museum didn’t attract the same amount of sweat and grime that being a soldier did.

He shook his head and smiled to himself, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it off, reaching for the t-shirt that was waiting for him in the locker. He had already made the grocery run yesterday, which meant that he could have something other than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. The downside to that was that he didn’t know when Lelouch would be back to the flat. Cooking a warm meal with the intention of forcing Lelouch to eat it wouldn’t work if Lelouch wasn’t actually there.

His phone buzzed as he pulled the shirt over his head, Suzaku glancing at the phone as it jittered along the bottom of his locker. He quickly exchanged his slacks for jeans before picking up the phone, staring at the text on the screen.

 _Do I have to come and rescue you?_

Suzaku rolled his eyes before sliding the keyboard out and sending his own reply. _No. Heading back now. What do you want for dinner?_

 _Busy._

 _No._

 _Yes._

 _No._

 _Case more important._

 _YOU. WILL. EAT._

There was a delay in the stream of texts, Suzaku taking the chance to escape from the locker room and walk through the museum. He ignored the next text from Lelouch until he had walked outside, leaning against the railing on the step to look at the text.

 _Fine. Just make it worth my while._

 _As always._ Suzaku tucked the phone back in his pocket, smiling as he stepped out onto the sidewalk, heading back to their flat.


	11. Reason You Live

_"It's funny how someone can live each and every day without knowing that their existence is the reason you live."_

Suzaku stretched out on the couch, allowing his feet to hang off the end. Blindly, he reached for the pillow that had pushed off of the couch earlier, pushing it behind his head. With the way things were going, today was going to be an easy day for him. He wasn’t on duty at the museum and Lelouch was just finishing up a case, which meant that he had the whole day to do nothing. And, after the amount of rushing around he was doing between shifts, Suzaku wanted nothing more than to just lounge around all day.

He flipped onto his side, reaching for the remote and groaning when it was just out of his reach. Suzaku rocked back and tried again, the tips of his fingers just brushing over the end of the remote.

Suzaku sighed, looking up as Lelouch stumbled into the room, raising an eyebrow at how exhausted Lelouch looked. He chuckled and propped himself up on one elbow. “Did they run you ragged? Or did you start running after another criminal?”

Lelouch held up a stack of file folders. “More cold cases. And a few boring ones.” He sighed and turned his attention to the file folders. “Mostly boring ones. But it’s better than nothing.”

“Hm.” Suzaku returned to his attempts to grab the remote, grumbling angrily when Lelouch reached over to knock it away. “Hey!”

“You’re lazy.”

“I deserve it, running around after you.” Suzaku sat up and snatched the remote, scooting over as Lelouch flopped onto the couch beside him. His quip didn’t get a response, Lelouch just humming to himself as he leafed through the files.

Suzaku hesitated before leaning back and resting his arms on the back of the couch. It didn’t take long for Lelouch to lean closer to him, taking advantage of the vacated space. It would only be a matter of time until Lelouch decided to lean on Suzaku, probably around the time that Suzaku finally decided to turn on the television. And they would probably stay that way, Lelouch too engrossed in his files and Suzaku too comfortable to ask him to move away.

He pressed his head back against the couch, tipping it to the side to stare at the remote before sighing. “Soap operas or movie?”

“Don’t care. Just something intelligent.”

“So movie then.” Suzaku stood up, walking over to their small collection of movies. He didn’t bother to ask Lelouch for his opinion, because he wouldn’t get an answer. He froze at the colorful packaging of one of their movies, frowning and leaning in before shaking his head. So that’s what Kaguya had managed to leave him on their last visit. Of course she would leave his favorite anime behind for him.

He pulled it from its place on the shelf, shaking his head. He would have to thank her later.

Suzaku slid the first disk in and flopped back onto the couch, Lelouch scooting over to make room for him before leaning on him again. Lelouch only looked up when the menu screen came up, wrinkling his nose. “I should have known you were into that.”

“Into what?”

“Mechas.” Lelouch rolled his eyes and went back to staring at the files.

Suzaku chuckled and settled back, feeling Lelouch’s head fall against his shoulder. Usually he would make some comment about Lelouch invading his personal space, not that he minded in the first place, but he was too relaxed to care.


	12. Fire and Ice

_“Some say the world will end in fire.” – Fire and Ice_

Red. That’s all his mind could focus on despite his genius. All of the red dots that were littering Suzaku’s body as the man crouched on the floor.

The hand that was holding the pistol was shaking so badly that Lelouch had to bring up his other hand to steady it, breathing out slowly. He had to ignore the red dots and focus on the insane man in front of them, Mao just smiling blithely, his hand still up in the air from signaling the snipers. “Come on, Lelouch, we both know what you’re going to do.”

Lelouch’s eyes darted from the bomb on the floor and Mao, tightening his grip on the gun. Mao wouldn’t let them leave, they had seen his face, the face of a man who had been behind too many a crime. The man who could match Lelouch’s genius, or at least read him so easily that it seemed like it. Lelouch gritted his teeth, forcing himself to bring the gun down to aim at the bomb, hating the relief that he saw in Suzaku’s eyes.

Of course it wouldn’t matter to Suzaku that they were going to die, the ex-soldier had a death wish anyway. But Lelouch had so many things to live for, for his sister and for the express purpose of finding his mother’s killer. He still had to do that and he couldn’t die here.

He swallowed, shutting his eyes and slumping. Let Mao take that as he wanted, he was too busy trying to come to terms with what he was about to do.

He wouldn’t be able to figure out who had killed his mother.

He wouldn’t be able to say good-bye to Rolo, as annoying as his brother was.

He wouldn’t even be able to say good-bye to Nunnally.

Lelouch swallowed, slowly straightening up, keeping the gun trained on the bomb. “Sorry.”

“I forgive you.” Suzaku gave him a partial smile, managing to laugh. “It was fun while it lasted.”

“Sure.” Lelouch took aim and fired, closing his eyes against the rush of heat from the explosion.


	13. In a Disused Graveyard

_“Men hate to die And have stopped dying forever. I think they would believe the lie.”—In A Disused Graveyard_

The world was muffled, Lelouch struggling to open his eyes as he felt himself being pulled over the ground. He was aware of the pain in his legs and the pain in his arm from being dragged along the tiled floor. Lelouch coughed, his throat burning. He swallowed in attempt to ease the pain, reaching up with his other hand to pull at the person dragging him along. He wasn’t taking the chance that it was Mao.

The person stopped, Lelouch taking the moment to struggle as much as his battered body would allow him. If this was Mao, he had to get away before the insane man dragged him into the pool or out of the building. Lelouch didn’t know the extent of his injuries, but he was willing to bet that they were severe enough to keep him out of commission for a while, long enough for Mao do decide what would happen to him. And Lelouch did _not_ want to be framed for a crime, there was too much at stake for him if they dug into his past.

He was pinned to the ground before he could pull himself away, Lelouch’s struggles slowing down as he quickly figured out that too much moving hurt. He shut his eyes, for a moment, trying to compose himself before opening them again. The angry demands he had prepared were quickly forgotten as he found himself staring at Suzaku.

His friend smiled, seeming to be ignorant of the thin trails of blood that were making their way down his face. Lelouch sighed in relief, slumping against the tiles only to hiss in pain and try to sit up.

“Hey.” Suzaku was speaking to him, or more like shouting, because Lelouch was sure that his hearing still wasn’t right. “Wait. Help is coming.”

“You called?”

“I don’t think the police would miss an explosion.” Suzaku laughed, the sound turning into a cough. Lelouch frowned as his friend continued to cough before gently settling himself on the ground, Suzaku still attempting to smile at Lelouch. “If you do, you have every right to yell at them.”

Suzaku sighed and tipped his head to the side, resting it against the cool tile, Lelouch watching him closely. After a moment of consideration, Lelouch brushed his fingers against Suzaku’s side, the closest he could get to a poke at the moment. “You have a death wish.”

“Yes.” Suzaku opened one eye to look at him. “And?”

“Shouldn’t you be disappointed?”

Suzaku stared at him for a moment before smiling. “I’ll consider that later. Right now, I’m busy trying to figure out how to explain this to my therapist.”


	14. On Being Brought From Africa to America

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote for this chapter comes from the Phillis Wheatley poem of the same name.

_"’Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Taught my benighted soul to understand/That there’s a God, that there’s a savior too: Once I redemption neither sought nor knew"-On Being Brought from Africa to America_

They were sprawled in their small sitting room, Lelouch stretched out on the couch and Suzaku reclined back in his chair.

Suzaku swallowed, watching Lelouch as he tried to keep his aching body from resting too completely on the chair. While the explosion hadn’t managed to do too much lasting damage, but it had managed to bruise the both of them. Suzaku was surprised that his skin still looked the right color, because it felt like it was one big bruise. He sighed and tipped his head back, wincing halfway through the motion by pain from his neck. “Ow.”

“Try not to move.” Lelouch’s voice was muffled from the couch. “It’ll just hurt more.”

Suzaku hissed out a pained breath between his teeth as he returned to his original position, letting out the rest of his breath in the rush. He was still surprised that the paramedics had let them go home, although it could have been a result of Lelouch’s glaring and Detective Inspector Cardemonde’s nervous insistence that everyone had to clear out of the area. Some of Mao’s snipers had been stuck in the building by the explosion and had started firing.

Still, bruised and in pain was better than dead.

Suzaku shifted, only to let out a yelp as he brushed his elbow against the side off his chair. He reached up to cradle the injured joint, glaring at Lelouch as the man laughed.

“I would have thought you would enjoy this.”

“I’m not a masochist.”

“You could have fooled me.”

“I’m not.” Suzaku went to stand up, the process taking far longer than it should have. “Check my therapist’s records, I know you can. If you can’t, the Schneizel probably already has. Your brother has probably already vetted me out completely.”

Lelouch flinched at the mention of his half-brother, Suzaku not staying to get the glare that would come from mentioning that man’s name. He was exhausted and ready to collapse into bed. Thankfully, the exhaustion would help with his nightmares, he didn’t want to have to relieve moments in the army with his body this sore.

He was preparing himself for the climb up the stairs to his room when Lelouch’s voice made him pause. “I thought you had a death wish.”

Suzaku turned to look back into the sitting room, able to see Lelouch’s face from this angle. His flat mate was staring at him from the sofa, the confusion on Lelouch’s face enough to make Suzaku let go of the hand rail. “What?”

Lelouch pushed himself up so he was resting on his arms instead of completely on his stomach. “You therapist notes that you have suicidal tendencies and, more than once, you’ve been willing to put yourself in danger where the odds are against you coming out alive.”

“I’m not suicidal.”

“Liar.” Lelouch narrowed his eyes. “You actively seek death.” Lelouch paused to take a breath, his eyes widening as he came to a conclusion. “At least, you do when you can save other people.”

“Not now, Lelouch.”

“Is it because of the army, Suzaku? That would be the logical place to get that kind of urge. You had to watch all of those people die and couldn’t do anything about it.”

His hand was shaking, Suzaku could see it, and he couldn’t stop looking at it. He swallowed and shook his head, unable to speak before Lelouch had started again. “So you don’t know why you’re still alive and they aren’t, but you aren’t willing to give up your life for nothing. Did someone give up their life to save you? Anyway, your self destructive tendencies don’t crop up until someone is in danger. Are you trying to return the favor?”

“Lelouch, please just-”

“So why didn’t you attack Mao? You could have gotten the release you wanted and have saved my life. Why didn’t you do anything?”

Suzaku slid to the ground, only aware that his legs had given out when he hit the floor. He pressed his hands against his face, feeling himself shake. He faintly heard the sound of Lelouch getting up from the couch, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt Lelouch touch his shoulder. “Suzaku, why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know!” He turned to look at Lelouch, wincing as the motion made his body ache. “I don’t know why I do any of that! I don’t know why it’s not gone. You fixed my limp, why can’t you fix this?!”

Lelouch remained crouched beside him, his face blank. Suzaku snorted in disgust, pushing Lelouch’s hand off his shoulder and standing up. “I’m going to bed.”

“Suzaku,” he froze at the sound of his name, not bothering to look back at Lelouch. “I think I can fix this.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We just need to find you something to live for.”

Suzaku snorted, beginning to climb the stairs to his room. “I’m going to sleep. You should too. And no cases for a couple of weeks, alright? I can’t chase after you like this.”

He didn’t get an answer from Lelouch, but he hadn’t expected one. Lelouch was probably still trying to figure out how to cure Suzaku’s next problem. But Suzaku doubted that even Lelouch’s brilliant mind could come up with something to fix him.


	15. Anywhere to Get to You

_"I would go anywhere to get to you, so why is it that all you have to do is smile to get to me?"_

After having listened to the bedtime stories that his mother had read to his younger siblings and absorbing the popular culture of the time, Lelouch didn’t expect to realize that he was in love so suddenly and over something so mundane.

He had always known that his hormones would eventually kick in and the drive to find a partner would come to pester him. He was a man in the prime of his life, it would happen sometime. But he had always expected it to be after a chase or a near death experience. He had expected it to be hurried and all consuming, like the rest of his life was.

He had never thought it would come to him on a lazy Saturday afternoon as Suzaku was passing him a mug of tea.

Their fingers brushed over each other for the briefest moment and Lelouch had looked up to make sure that he wouldn’t drop the mug when Suzaku let go. It was one of his favorite mugs, one of the few things he had saved from his childhood.

His attention had gone straight from the mug to Suzaku’s face, catching the smile that Suzaku gave him, the smile that his friend gave him every day.

Before, it had never meant anything other than Suzaku was happy and content. It meant that Lelouch was doing a good job in his self appointed task in giving Suzaku Kururugi something to live for. He had long since recognized Suzaku’s real smile and the fake one that Suzaku would use sometimes, and this was one of the former.

But this time, he felt warm and just as content as Suzaku. He felt like reaching up and kissing Suzaku, tasting the green tea and hint of honey that was sure to be lingering in Suzaku’s mouth, would be the best thing that had ever happened to him. Maybe it would come close to when Nunnally and Rolo had been born, maybe. It would be heaven on earth to burry one hand in those messy brown curls and pull Suzaku down until their lips just brushed. And Suzaku would understand exactly what Lelouch was trying to say.

Stay with me. You are the only person able to completely understand me. You are my equal. Let me be your reason for living.

He didn’t though. He just took the mug and let Suzaku move away, pretending to return to looking over the notes of the latest cold case Detective Inspector Cardemonde had asked him to look over. Lelouch struggled to keep his expression blank, because what he had been thinking was horribly romantic, but true nonetheless.

He enjoyed Suzaku’s company and how the ex-soldier just accepted him the way he was, insane hours and bad habits. With the absence of his siblings, Lelouch hadn’t found anyone who was willing to take everything he did in stride as well as being the opposite of what he was.

Suzaku cared about people, while Lelouch just saw them as a means to an end. Suzaku would smile and adjust himself to fit into society, while Lelouch ignored conventions and went his own way.

They were the best of friends and things just _worked_ between them. And Lelouch wanted Suzaku around for a while because of that, in addition to everything. No one else would do.

Lelouch closed his eyes and sighed, allowing himself to bask in the happy feeling for a moment longer. Then, he pushed it away. He had more pressing things to attend to, like this case. But that wasn’t enough to completely wipe the smile from his face or keep him from glancing up to meet Suzaku’s gaze when the man went to sit in his chair, returning the smile that Suzaku gave him.


	16. The Lockless Door

_“So at a knock I emptied my cage To hide in the world And alter with age.” –The Lockless Door_

Lelouch opened one eye as he felt something warm settle over him, lifting his head from the armrest of the couch as Suzaku walked by. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Suzaku disappeared into the kitchen, Lelouch sitting up and pulling the blanket around him. He watched Suzaku make his usual cup of tea, scooting over on the sofa when Suzaku came back into the main room with the cup. Lelouch immediately let himself lean on Suzaku’s shoulder, closing his eyes again. He heard Suzaku sigh. “How late were you up last night?”

“Not too much later than you. Maybe two hours.” Lelouch wrapped an arm around Suzaku’s waist, glad that his friend didn’t jump. “I was tired.”

“Running around Pendragon will do that to you.”

Lelouch snorted, lifting his head slightly to kiss Suzaku’s shoulder, feeling Suzaku suck in a quick breath before relaxing again, leaning into Lelouch. “I’m surprised I kept up with you, exercise nut.”

“You like it.” Lelouch tensed as Suzaku reached down to move Lelouch’s hand from the safety of his pajama covered hip to his bare abdomen, Lelouch’s fingers settling over muscle.

Lelouch jerked, burying his face in the join between Suzaku’s neck and shoulder. “Too early for this.”

“Really?”

Lelouch snorted but tipped his face up to kiss Suzaku, humming as the man settled a hand on the back of his neck. He pulled back quickly to deliver his retort. “Idiot.”

Suzaku just smiled before setting his cup of tea down on the table and pushing Lelouch back onto the couch, kissing him the entire way down.


	17. Complicated

** Complicated **

Lelouch sighed and snuggled closer to the warm spot on his bed, pressing his face into the pillow. It was too bright outside, even with the curtains closed. His plans to spend most of the day asleep were quickly being destroyed. Lelouch groaned and tried to pull the covers over his head. Was it too much to ask for a day of sleeping after only getting quick naps through the last week?

He finally managed to get the covers over his head, Lelouch relaxing at the darkness that he had created. Now he was good for the rest of the day, Suzaku wouldn’t bother him unless something was wrong. And, if Suzaku was smart, he would be taking this chance to sleep too.

His eyes snapped open at a chuckle from the thing he was cuddling close to, only then realizing that it was another body in his bed.

Lelouch yelped and rolled away, misjudging the distance between where he was and the end of the bed. He tumbled out of bed, wincing at the loud thump that his body made as it hit the floor. He wrestled with the blankets, pulling them away from him.

There was no way that Suzaku wouldn’t have heard that. Knowing Suzaku, the ex-soldier would be charging up here, which meant that he had almost no time to question who was in his bed.

Lelouch tore the blankets from his head, glaring up at his bed. He couldn’t help the blush that crossed his face as he saw the naked woman that was splayed out there, recovering a moment later when he recognized her. “C.C!”

“Hello Lelouch.” She gave him a flick of her fingers, smiling down at him. “You’ve become a cuddler.”

“I have not!”

“Lelouch!” He turned his head to stare at the door as it was flung open, his blush returning as he saw Suzaku standing there.

The ex-soldier glanced down at him before looking at the bed, Suzaku’s eyes going wide. To Lelouch’s relief, Suzaku quickly averted his eyes. “Sorry.”

Lelouch didn’t give him a chance to escape, throwing the blankets as C.C. at he rushed after Suzaku. He slammed the door behind him, grabbing Suzaku’s arm and pulling him back. “Where are you-”

“I didn’t know you had someone over. I’m sorry for barging in like that. Just tell me next time.”

Lelouch stared at Suzaku, mentally cursing his flat mate for being so stupid. “No. No, we’re not like that. She’s just an…an old friend.” Lelouch sighed and let go of Suzaku’s sleeve. “She’s just an old friend of the family, who loves to annoy me.”

“But she was naked, in your bed.”

“She takes it too far.” Suzaku seemed to agree by the way he shifted nervously. Lelouch shook his head and took a step back to the bedroom. “I’ll talk to her. She’ll be leaving soon anyway.”

He didn’t wait to see if Suzaku nodded, slipping into the room and glaring at C.C. as she put her clothes back on. C.C. glanced back at him once, shrugging before pulling the white shirt over her head. “He’s cute.”

“Not now.”

C.C. shrugged and flopped back onto his bed, leaning her cheek on her hand. “Worried about your little boyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Oh, you haven’t told him you swing that way.”

“I don’t swing _any_ way.”

“Right.” C.C’s tone of voice made Lelouch flinch. She was the only one who could consistently see through him. “You’re married to your work.”

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling.

“Is there a point to your visit, woman?”

C.C. stared at him before sighing. “You’re no fun, Lelouch.”

“You could have knocked like a _normal_ person.”

“Oh, but normal is so boring.” C.C. smiled before pulling a ring out of her pocket, holding it carefully in her fingers. “Here you go, my boarding fee for one night. And one case solved.”

She tossed it toward him, Lelouch catching the ring, but not bothering to look at it. “Good, now get out.”

“Wait, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Then tell me!”

“But teasing you is so much fun.” C.C. sat up, smirking at him as she crossed her legs. “It proves you’re still human.”

“What do you want to tell me?”

She shook her head, mouthing something before tipping her head back to stare at the ceiling. “There’s been a name popping up again in the circles that I work in.”

“How does this concern me?’

“Listen Lelouch.” C.C. glared at him, sliding off of the bed. “If you don’t listen to anything else that I say, listen to this. There are rumors that V.V. is back.”

Lelouch jerked at that. The cab driver had said that the person who was funding him was called V.V, the same person that the cab driver had called Lelouch’s fan. “What?”

“I don’t know much about him.” C.C. started to pull on her clothes. “But I have figured out enough to know that it’s best to stay away from him. And that goes for you too. Don’t try and meet up with him.”

“What if he was the one who killed my mother?”

“He didn’t. V.V. just watches and arranges, he never gets involved himself. Consider this your warning, for the sake of your siblings.” C.C. flipped her hair over her shoulders, walking out of his room.

Lelouch heard Suzaku speak to her, their voices muffled and low. He couldn’t catch what they said to each other, but it didn’t sound like a confrontation. He sighed and glanced down at the ring in his hand, holding it up to the light and staring at the topaz that was set in it. “So, you do exist, V.V.”


	18. I Never Knew I Wanted

  
_You are everything I never knew I always wanted._   


Suzaku stood outside of the building, leaning back against the stone as he waited for Lelouch. His friend would just be finishing up with Rivalz in going over the final details of the case for the report. He didn’t have anything to contribute, Lelouch had done most of the hard work, he had just acted as back up.

He tipped his head up, staring at the sky and frowning. It looked like it was going to rain, the clouds gathering over Pendragon. Suzaku hoped it would rain, the parks of Pendragon were looking droopy and yellow and the New Thames was nothing more than a muddy riverbed. But, then again, that’s what the Britannian royal family got for choosing to place their capital in the middle of the desert. It was just as crazy as their need to build a fake river, just because it would be more like the former capital of London.

Suzaku shook his head, jumping as he saw someone walk from the building. His mouth dropped open as he recognized Princess Euphemia, quickly dropping into a bow.

Princess Euphemia had been working with them closely while they had tried to solve the mystery of Andreas Dalton’s murder. Lelouch had been the one to connect Dalton’s old campaigns with the man who had killed him, an attempt at taking a treasure that didn’t really exist. When Dalton had made the mistake of telling his murderer that, the murderer had taken the chance to publish blackmail about the knight, all of which had been proven false by Lelouch.

Suzaku looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Stand please. I’m trying to remain in disguise.”

He nodded, standing up slowly. Euphemia watched him the entire time, a smile on her face. “I wanted to thank you and Lelouch for solving this case. My sister will be able to rest easier now, knowing that Dalton wasn’t a traitor to the crown. And his sons will be able to proudly call themselves Glaston Knights again.”

“Think nothing of it, my lady.”

“But I do.” Suzaku’s eyes widened as she touched the back of his hand. “I want to thank the both of you. And…I wonder if you will do me the honor, Suzaku, of going out on a date with me.”

“W-why?”

Euphemia blushed. “I like you, Suzaku, and I want to get to know you a little better. And…Oh, I’m doing this all wrong, aren’t I?”

Suzaku shook his head, flattered that the princess would even consider speaking to him, let alone actually want to get to know him better. He was just an Honorary Britannian, an ex-soldier who had been given and honorable discharge from the military for his brave actions and then forgotten about. “You’re not. But, surely you have a fiancée.”

“I’ve been holding off my father.” Euphemia frowned for a moment before laughing. “I refuse to marry anyone I don’t love. Father has enough children to assure diplomatic marriages for a while. I’ll even give up my claim to the throne if I have to.”

Suzaku couldn’t think of anything to say, all he could do was stare at this wonderful and amazing woman. Here was one person who didn’t seem to care about what his was, and that made him happy. One person who didn’t care that he wasn’t perfect.

Euphemia held out her arm. “Would you escort me to my car, Suzaku?”

“Yes, my lady.” He took her arm, gently walking her over to where her car waited.

He jumped in surprise as Euphemia moved to press her shoulder against his, moving their arms so they could hold hands. Suzaku looked down to where their hands were joined, trying to get over the shock. He looked back up as Euphemia spoke again. “I meant what I said, Suzaku. I want to get to know you better.”

Suzaku desperately tried to come up with a reason why he should say no, but there was no reason that he could come up with. He settled for a smile. “Are you free on Friday? Around eight?”

Euphemia leaned her head against his shoulder. “Friday at eight sounds wonderful.”

She kept her head on his shoulder until they reached the car, Suzaku guiding her into the car. He was surprised when Euphemia kept the door open, the princess still smiling at him. “I can’t wait to see you again, Suzaku.”

The door was shut a moment later, Suzaku stepping back onto the curb and watching the car drive away.


	19. Afraid to Lose You

_"A little jealousy in a relationship is healthy. It's nice to know that someone is afraid to lose you."_

“Lelouch?”

He didn’t turn around at the sound of his half sister’s voice. He didn’t want to.

“Suzaku isn’t here.”

“I know.” Euphemia walked further into the room, Lelouch finding it harder to ignore her. “I came to see you.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

“Lelouch, no one will know. And no one will care.”

“Good.”

He felt her rest a hand on his chair. “Is that really how you feel, Lelouch?”

“Yes. No one cared about us before, why should they now?”

“Schneizel cared. Cornelia cared. I care.”

Lelouch shut his eyes, biting his lip to keep from shouting at her. He _knew_ that she cared about him in her own way.

 _If you cared so much, why did you take Suzaku away from me?_

He sighed and let his pen drop out of his hands. He couldn’t say that to Euphemia, not when he knew that she was happy and excited because she was doing something that she wanted for once. She was happy and Suzaku was happy and why should he stop them. He hadn’t been happy since his mother had died, why should he start now?

“I know, Euphy.”

“Good. We worry about you sometimes.”

“Everyone says that.”

“You’ve changed.”

Lelouch swallowed, opening his eyes and finally turning to face her. “Euphy, I saw my mother _die_. That would change anyone.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean that you can cut the rest of us off. We’re willing to help you whenever you need it.”

It was typical Euphy, trying to help everyone. Lelouch looked away and nodded. She was helping Suzaku more than he ever had. He had thought that he was giving Suzaku a reason to live with the cases and the chases. It was what the ex-soldier seemed to thrive on. But, apparently, that wasn’t what Suzaku wanted. The soldier in Suzaku might still crave danger, but Suzaku just wanted a nice girl and to settle down. Lelouch couldn’t give him that, Lelouch could barely stomach it.

Euphy took his hand, Lelouch staring up at her out of the corner of his eye.

“You’ll still come to my wedding?”

 _No._

“Of course, Euphy.” Lelouch forced himself to smile. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

She giggled and hugged him. Lelouch kept his arms at his sides, staring straight ahead at the opposite wall. Watching that wedding was probably going to kill him, but he had Refrain hidden in the flat, just a bit left over from the days before Suzaku when the boredom had become too much. He could always stagger home and forget what he had seen for a few hours.

Euphy pulled away, kissing him on the cheek before heading to the door. “Thank you. It’s very important to the both of us.”

“I know, Euphy. I know.” Lelouch smiled and waved as she left the room, waiting until the door had closed behind her to turn and rest his head on the desk.


	20. The Five Orange Pips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote comes from the Sherlock Holmes story The Five Orange Pips.

_”’I have been beaten four times –three times by men, and once by a woman.’”-The Five Orange Pips_

Lelouch leaned back in his chair, waiting until their client had left the flat before leaning back and stretching. He settled himself back on the sofa, catching a glimpse of Suzaku’s surprised face as he went to get up. Lelouch allowed his friend to sit in silence as he wandered into the kitchen, filling up the kettle with water before setting it to boil. He leaned back against the counter, watching the back of Suzaku’s head as he fiddled with the mug he had pulled from the drying rack, already beginning to turn the information they had been given for the case.

“…are you even listening?” He jumped at the sound of Suzaku’s voice, looking up from the mug in his hands to his friend, Suzaku leaning his arms on the top of the chair. Lelouch was about to snap at him to sit in _his_ chair properly, but stopped at the confused look on Suzaku’s face.

Lelouch turned so he was facing the small living room area, placing the mug on the counter. “Obviously.”

Suzaku rolled his eyes and resettled himself. “You said that you had been beaten before.”

“It’s true.” It was worth admitting that fault to see Suzaku’s eyes widen comically before the man smiled.

“I knew it.”

“You’re going to rub it in my face now.”

“I knew it!”

Lelouch sighed and turned back to the kettle, glaring at it as he heard Suzaku chuckling in the next room. He winced at the sound of the springs of the chair protesting as his friend shifted, pointedly still not looking at him.

“Aren’t you going to tell me who they were?”

“And continue to humiliate myself?”

Suzaku looked a bit put out at that, Lelouch sneaking a glance to be sure of his friend’s expression. Suzaku easily caught his gaze, widening his eyes. “Can I guess?”

“You’ll do so with or without my permission.”

That got a smile from Suzaku as leaned on his arms, still sitting in the chair incorrectly, an adorable little furrow forming on his forehead as he thought.

Lelouch gave up all hope of focusing on the kettle and turned to face Suzaku, watching as his friend thought, trying to keep a smile off of his face. He was sure that Suzaku would be able to correctly guess all of them, the man was more intuitive than he gave himself credit for.

“Do I at least get a clue?”

“There were only four.”

“Only four…Well one of them has got to be Schneizel.” Lelouch winced at the grin that Suzaku threw his way, knowing his reaction to his half-brother’s name would prove him right. “Alright, that’s one. So the next would have to be…Mao.”

Another correct answer for Suzaku, the man wiggling in his place, looking more like a ten year old child than a man in his late twenties. “Two. Three would have to be…V.V.”

Lelouch saw Suzaku’s eyes narrow at that, his own hand clenching on the counter at the name of the mysterious criminal mastermind that they were still in the process of tracking. So far, they had only met Mao, the second-in-command. But even following someone else’s orders, they were completely a step ahead of him. Always.

Suzaku shook his head, seeming to start of the silence that V.V’s name always put them in. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck, his eyes straying away to stare at the pictures scattered on the mantelpiece. Suzaku’s eyes widened, Lelouch knowing exactly what he had spotted.

It had come in the mail today along with a list of instructions which Lelouch was planning to ignore anyway. “I see you spotted the Great Star of Africa.”

“But that’s been missing since…” Suzaku turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow before smiling. “I know who the last person is.” Lelouch snorted and turned to pour the water into his mug, trying to ignore Suzaku. He heard the man laugh. “Come on, who else would send you part of the missing Crown Jewels in the mail. It has to be her.”

“Her?”

“The one you always call ‘ _the_ woman’.”

“I think you’ll find the term I use for her is witch.” Lelouch felt the corner of his mouth quirk up in a smile. “But, yes, she did send me that this morning and I’m purposefully going to taunt the police with it. They’ve been more incompetent than usual lately.”

Suzaku laughed, finally getting out of the chair and coming to stand in the kitchen, leaning on the table. “So, did I get them right?”

Lelouch patiently stirred in one spoonful of sugar into his tea, using the motion to stall for time as he thought the names over.

Schneizel definitely belonged on that list. Although his half-brother thought that he was just doing his duty as their brother, Lelouch preferred to call it by its true name, stalking. He did feel more relaxed knowing that Nunnally was under surveillance and the best protection that money could buy since he couldn’t be around her all the time. But when it was turned on him, it was annoying. He didn’t need those nearly daily e-mails from Schneizel telling him that his own failings or that his milk was about to expire. Lelouch would be twenty-eight in six months, he could take care of himself.

Mao had earned a place on that list as well. Even if the man was not the one giving the orders, he was crafty enough to get around Lelouch, or just good at reading him, which made Lelouch uneasy. He wasn’t supposed to be easy to read, he was supposed to be cold and distant. He depended on that to keep himself distanced from his work. It had taken him up to this point to stop from having flashbacks at crime scenes. But Mao was probably going to be the man to break him, if his employer didn’t manage it first.

Which brought him around to V.V, the ever mysterious man working behind the scenes. What little they knew about him came from Mao, and Lelouch had the feeling that all of those hints had been allowed to them. The only piece of evidence that they had managed to gather on their own was that this V.V. seemed to have a special attachment to Lelouch.

He tried to hide a shiver, sipping at his tea as he stared at the fridge.

C.C. was a good guess on Suzaku’s part because she had foiled him many times. But he found that she didn’t count because he understood her completely, or as completely as he felt he could. C.C. spent her time traveling because staying in one place too long didn’t suit her. She enjoyed trying to earn the affections of high class men because it was all she had learned as a child out on the streets. She didn’t do it for love, but for the thrill of the chase, and the thrill that came afterward when she escaped with her trinket that she would parade in front of Lelouch before disappearing again. Lelouch personally though that it was her way of showing that she cared, that she came back to check on Nunnally and himself. His mother had been the only friend C.C. had, so she probably looked at them in an affectionate light.

But she definitely hadn’t defeated him, they both had an agreement to stay out of the other’s affairs unless they were in an argument.

Lelouch chuckled, about to tell Suzaku about his mistake when they heard a knock at their door, both of them turning to look.

“Suzaku?”

“Euphy!” Lelouch fought back the scowl that crossed his face as Suzaku straightened up and smiled brightly, the smile that used to be directed at Lelouch all the time. Suzaku glanced down at his watch before muttering under his breath. “I promised that we would have dinner out tonight.”

“That’s fine. The police probably won’t come to me tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Lelouch motioned towards the door with his hand. “Run along and have dinner with your,” he always had to swallow before speaking the next word, “wife.”

Suzaku gave him a thankful smile before turning towards the door, Lelouch trying to ignore the glint of metal on Suzaku’s left hand. He turned his full attention to his tea as he heard Suzaku slip on his shoes and a jacket before opening the door and stepping out. He ignored the couple’s happy conversation on the other side of the door, holding his breath until he heard them going down the stairs.

Lelouch turned towards the sink and dumped the rest of his tea down the drain, setting his mug in the sink before stumbling over to flop down on the couch. He had tried to sit in his chair, the one that Suzaku had habitually taken, but he still couldn’t. It had been eight whole months since Suzaku had married and he still couldn’t sit in that damn chair.

He ran a hand over his face before flipping to his back and staring up at the ceiling, his arm draped listlessly over the armrest of the sofa.

Suzaku hadn’t guessed the right woman because Lelouch made a point never to talk about her, he didn’t even want to acknowledge her existence in this world. In another life, another time, they probably would have been able to get along, but Euphemia had stolen Suzaku’s heart and held it, something that Lelouch had never managed to do.

And because Suzaku was happy, obviously and deliriously happy, Lelouch had to admit defeat.


	21. Kisses Are Like Tears

_"Kisses are like tears. The only ones that are real are the ones you can't hold back."_

He hadn’t meant to. He and Suzaku were just friends, they had been more than that once before, just for once glorious week.

But that was over now, they were just friends again. Suzaku was married, happily married. To Euphemia, his own half-sister.

He had only met Euphemia a few times, but she had been kind to them, the only one who had been kind to them. So he wouldn’t ruin her happiness, because she had allowed them some of their own. While he hadn’t been happy to let Suzaku go, there were worse people that Suzaku could have chosen.

But he hadn’t factored in his own lingering attraction to the man or the adrenaline rushes that came after running after criminals or from narrowly escaping from a trap. He had thought that he would just ignore his own urges and go on with his life.

Apparently, he had greatly underestimated himself.

They had just finished a run through the streets, Suzaku ahead of him by a large margin. Part of the way through their escape, he had found himself staring at Suzaku’s ass, unable to look away. He had been able to keep a good distance between the two of them while running, but not when Suzaku stopped. When Suzaku had stopped he hadn’t been unable to keep himself from closing the distance between them and pressing Suzaku against the wall of the alley. Hadn’t been able to keep himself from pressing himself against Suzaku and kissing him.

What made it worse is that Suzaku didn’t struggle or push him away. Suzaku kissed back.

Lelouch moaned as Suzaku carded a hand through his hair, the hand continuing down his neck to settle on his hip. Lelouch reached up to wrap his arms around Suzaku’s neck, freezing halfway through the motion as Suzaku cupped his cheek. He settled for letting one hand drop over Suzaku’s shoulder, reaching for the hand that was resting on his cheek. He could feel Suzaku’s wedding ring on his skin, cold and burning, but he didn’t want to stop.

Thankfully, Suzaku dropped his hand to rest on the small of his back, where Lelouch couldn’t feel the cold ring. But he knew it was there, he knew it was there and could almost feel it through his clothes. So he tipped his head to one side to encourage Suzaku into a deeper kiss. He went limp in Suzaku’s arms when Suzaku responded.

Like this he could forget that Suzaku officially belonged to someone else and believe that Suzaku was with him again.

They pulled apart to gasp for air, Suzaku resting his head back against the brick of the alley. Lelouch stared at him for a moment, reaching up to push away the hair that clung to Suzaku’s forehead. They remained like that, Suzaku trying to catch his breath and Lelouch resting his hand against the side of Suzaku’s face.

He was content to remain here, leaning against Suzaku, for the rest of the night. They were safe and Rivalz and the rest of the police would take care of that criminal. There was no reason why they couldn’t remain here and continue making out for a while longer. Then, they could go back to the flat and eat leftovers or take out while watching whatever Suzaku wanted, maybe make out some more and then fall asleep sprawled over each other on the couch.

Lelouch sighed and rested his head on Suzaku’s shoulder, smiling to himself. This would be just like old times, everything would be perfect again.

He blinked, staring at the light that was reflected off of Suzaku’s ring. And just like that the mood was broken.

Lelouch jerked away from Suzaku, stumbling back as he continued to stare at his ring. He shook his head before turning around, rolling his shoulders forward to hide the fact that he wiped his mouth against his arm.

He couldn’t do that again, he couldn’t let himself forget.


	22. The Final Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote comes from the Sherlock Holmes story, The Final Problem

_"He is the Napoleon of Crime, Watson, the organiser of half that is evil and nearly all that is undetected in this great city..."-The Final Problem_

It had been a stupid mistake to run after Mao alone, but Suzaku had been taking to long to make sure that Kallen was alright, and the man was escaping. Lelouch couldn’t let Mao escape, not after getting so close to the man he had been hunting down.

His hand tightened around his gun. If V.V. didn’t know who had killed his mother, then all hope was lost. If it was a crime, V.V. knew about it and probably was involved in it. Lelouch had a much better chance at getting the answers that he wanted if he interrogated the criminal mastermind than if he just blindly followed the cold trail left behind.

He was so close now, he could taste victory. Finally, he would know who and why they had killed his mother and stolen his childhood away. He could finally feel like he had accomplished something with his life. He could finally seek out Nunnally and Rolo after years of keeping them separate in the fear that his mother's murderer would come after one of them next. Lelouch could finally be _happy_.

He skidded around a corner, bringing the gun up in case Mao tried to fire on him, getting a glimpse of an open chamber lit by faint lights before he saw a shadow move behind him. He was too slow.

Something hit him on the side of the head, hard.

Lelouch grunted and fell to the side, dropping his gun and crumpling to the floor, unconscious before his head hit stone.

* * *

The man crouched behind Lelouch, carefully sliding his knife back into its sheath. He leaned down to run his fingers through Lelouch’s hair, seeking out the bump from where he had been hit. The man’s nimble fingers found it easily, the man checking them for blood before relaxing with a sigh, glancing behind him.

He had been lucky, Lelouch had come alone. The trap had worked perfectly.

Three hours from now, Gino would be released from his captivity, as promised, and the note explaining what had happened tonight would make its way into the hands of one Kururugi Suzaku. By that time, he and his prisoner would be long gone, leaving Kururugi with no way to follow them.

The man sunk his fingers into Lelouch’s hair again, gently stroking them through as he waited for Mao to return with everything that they would need, allowing himself a single moment of peace after months, if not years, of planning.

“It’s going to be alright. You’re safe now, _niisan_.”


	23. Making History

** Making History **

_’We go now to our reporter in the field, Milly Ashford, for the full report.’_

 _‘Thanks Tom. I’m standing in front of the New Tower Bridge where a crowd has gathered to see the end of the murderer that had the city on edge for weeks. The police pursued the killer to the bridge, where they struggled. The killer was finally thrown from the bridge and into the waters of the New Thames below. Boats have been out, attempting to retrieve the body of the killer.’_

Euphy gave up her death grip on his arm as Milly trailed off, the camera panning out to the water. Suzaku reached out to place a hand over hers, not taking his gaze from the television. In his other hand, he still held the crumpled note from Lelouch, the one that he had long since memorized.

_Found the killer. Waited for an hour. Went on my own. Call police after three hours if I don’t return._

Suzaku glanced at the clock on the wall. It had been four hours since Lelouch had gone, and he had called the police. But they had been busy with this latest victory, too busy to look for Lelouch. Suzaku closed his fist more tightly around the paper, his attention completely focused on the television.

Lelouch had to show up here, or at least be seen somewhere around at the site. They had been chasing this killer along with the police, and it wasn’t like Lelouch to just let the police take all of the glory.

 _’Final police reports show that this killer only managed to kill four people, the rest of the violence attributed to him was just by people copying his methods.’_

Suzaku swallowed, feeling Euphy tremble at his side. The man may have only managed to make four kills, but it would have been enough to cripple Britannia.

The first murder had been of Clovis la Britannia, Suzaku still remembered the look of horror on the man’s corpse when they had gotten to the scene, and the crude picture of a man carved onto Clovis’ chest. The next murder had been of Sir Bismarck Waldstein, the knight in charge of the royal family’s protection. The third murder had been of Cornelia li Britannia, Euphy’s sister. And the final murder had been James zi Britannia, Charles’ father.

Suzaku remembered that Lelouch had been surprised that the killer hadn’t gone for the emperor instead of James. By killing the emperor, the killer would have thrown Britannia into chaos, but he had chosen to go after a harmless old man instead.

“Suzaku.” He looked up as Euphy tugged his sleeve, shaking his head to clear his head of the thoughts of the case. It didn’t matter now, the man was caught and the killing would stop.

His eyes widened as he saw the boats heading back toward the shore, finding himself leaning forward as he watched the boat dock. He only partially paid attention to what the reporter was saying, his focus on where Euphy was squeezing his hand and on the boat.

 _’We’re getting the confirmation that this is indeed the killer and that he’s dead from his fall into the river.’_ Milly paused, pressing her fingers against her ear. Suzaku tensed as her eyes widened, Milly mouthing something before turning back to the boat. _’Two bodies?!’_

Suzaku’s heart beat faster as they pulled the two bodies from the boat, some part of him relieved that they were covered.

 _’It appears that the police officer that managed to corner the murderer was dragged over the bridge when the killer fell. We’re getting a confirmation on this brave man’s name…’_ Suzaku tuned out the rest as the sheet on the second body slipped, revealing black hair and pale skin.

He heard Euphy gasp from beside him, Suzaku pulling his hand away from her to rest his head in his hands. He had seen the purple scarf, the purple scarf that Nunnally had made for Lelouch. The one scarf that Lelouch never went a winter without wearing around his neck.

The killer had managed to commit five murders. The killer had managed to kill five of the most important people in the world. Clovis, Bismarck, Cornelia, James.

And now Lelouch.


	24. Just a Dream

_A dream is just a dream until you make it come true._

Suzaku tried to hold back the grin on his face as Gino went down on one knee, wincing with the rest of the police force as Kallen shook her head. “No. Stop it. I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Kallen…”

“No. You’re doing this in public, in front of my _co-workers_. The answer is no.”

Gino stared at her, standing up and grabbing her arm before dragging her into the nearest vacated office. Suzaku and some of the other officers reached out to grab the younger officers who tried to go and peek through the windows.

It only took a few seconds for Kallen’s squeal of joy to be heard through the walls anyway.

Rivalz and Suzaku exchanged knowing glances, watching as Gino stumbled out of the office, his hair messed up from where Kallen had run her fingers through it, grinning like a madman.

Gino glanced over at Suzaku and gave him a thumbs up. “She said yes. You still available to be the best man?”

“Sure.”

He stepped aside to let Rivalz walk over and give Gino a pat on the shoulder. “You could have saved yourself some trouble there.”

“Yeah. I should have, but you never know women. They could say one thing and mean the other.”

“Just listen to them, it’s always easier. Right Suzaku?”

Suzaku felt his grin falter, but he nodded. He quickly excused himself from the small celebration, going back to his desk. He spared the picture on the side of his desk a quick glance, feeling his throat clog up at the smiles in the picture.

He turned away and booted up the computer, staring at his left hand. It was hard to see the tan line from where his wedding ring had once sat, but he was sure that Lelouch would have picked it up.

Suzaku flinched, not wanting his mind to stray into that territory, not when Gino was so happy. He had to get over it, Lelouch was dead and Euphemia had left him. At least the latter had been something that they had both agreed on, they had been hurting each other for too long.

The computer gave a soft chime as it loaded, Suzaku turning to stare at the screen. He felt his heart start to beat faster as he stared at the headline news that had popped up as soon as he had brought up the internet.

 **’Royal Britannian Princess to Marry German Prince’**

Beneath the headline was a picture of Euphemia smiling brightly as she held the hand of a tall man. Suzaku felt sick, quickly closing the browser and resting his head on his arms.

They had both agreed to it, it was better to be apart and friends instead of married and always hurting themselves and each other. Suzaku should have known that Charles would have jumped on the chance to win another diplomatic alliance. He should have known that Euphy, kind, sweet Euphy, would have fallen in love with the man who was to be her husband, because any man was better than him. And he should have known that it was going to hurt.

He looked up as he heard someone approach his desk, surprised to see Gino staring at him worriedly. Suzaku cleared his throat and sat up, struggling to smile.

Gino shook his head. “You alright?”

“Of course.” Suzaku glanced at the picture of Euphy, feeling his stomach turn. He reached out to place the picture against his desk so he wouldn’t have to look at her smiling face. “And what’s with you? You should be happy. You got Kallen to accept your proposal.”

“Yeah. But are you alright.”

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Suzaku looked up at Gino and finally managed to smile.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A request from my Month of Code Geass for angsty drama with Euphemia but eventual Suzalulu comfort.

_"This is Milly Ashford here, bringing you breaking news from the EU. Princess Euphemia has safely delivered her and Prince Mattias' first child. It's a girl and, according to what our correspondences say, everything went smoothly. This is the first good news to come out of the royal family for a long while, especially with the long succession of deaths we had last summer._

_"A link to the most popular names will be provided on our webpage, and don't forget to vote on which name you think the lucky couple will pick. Tune in after the break when we go live to-"_

Suzaku turned off the television, tempted to throw the remote to the other side of the couch. But that would take a kind of anger that he didn't have. He couldn't be angry with Euphy, never with Euphy. Not when it had been his fault in the end. 

If he had stopped or had just spent time with the people who had still been  _alive_ instead of focusing on the one who was dead, maybe he could have salvaged their marriage. Maybe he could have fixed a lot of things in his life. 

That had always been his problem, he was too stubborn.

A muffled curse had Suzaku looking up from the couch, watching Lelouch move around in the kitchen. Lelouch had said something about fixing dinner, probably another in his attempts to make Suzaku stop looking so much like a skeleton (his wording). Suzaku shook his head and let himself sink back into the cushions.

Personally, he didn't care. He would get back into shape eventually. It was easier now that he wasn't doing his job _and_ searching out a reason for Lelouch's death.

It was easier now that Lelouch was back.

Usually that thought could provoke a smile, but he couldn't manage it. Suzaku sighed and rolled onto his side, nearly jumping to his feet when he saw that Lelouch had taken up a position on the chair opposite. He huffed and curled in on himself, hating the way that Lelouch scrutinized him. It was like he was looking over his chessboard, something that unnerved Suzaku.

He relaxed a fraction when Lelouch finally sat back, but that wasn't enough to take him off the edge. Lelouch looked like he wanted to talk, which was something that Suzaku didn't want to push through. Maybe in a week when the news stung a bit less, but not barely five minutes after it had happened.

"You could have made up with her."

"Not now."

"Euphy was always understanding. She would have listened to you."

"Lelouch..."

"She would have made you wait until she was done being mad, but she would have listened."

"I SAID NOT NOW!"

That was enough to get Lelouch to stop, although Suzaku regretted shouting. It wasn't Lelouch's fault, he had missed too much while he was busy dismantling his uncle's underground empire. It wasn't Euphy's fault either.

The cushions of the couch sagged as Lelouch sat down. Suzaku contemplated escape, but Lelouch was quicker. All it took was the gentle weight of his hand and Suzaku slumped.

"Suzaku, explain it to me."

"I don't want her to forgive me." The words came out forced, but Suzaku knew that Lelouch knew other ways to force them out. "I don't deserve it."

"I don't believe that."

"I lost her, Lelouch!" He sat up, glaring at his friend. "I lost her because I couldn't give up on you. She was the most wonderful thing to happen to me but I couldn't keep it together." Suzaku curled into himself. "Do you understand now, Lelouch? I messed up. I messed up so badly that I didn't do anything to stop her from leaving. And you know that I..."

"Love her?"

There was no point in denying it, even though Suzaku had been schooling himself to use the past tense. He sighed and nodded. "Yes. I still love her."

"And you let her go?"

"Because I...I don't know, Lelouch. I couldn't think of one thing I had done for her for a year or more. Everything had been about you and..." Suzaku ducked his head. "I don't know how I can live in a world without the two of you."

"She's not here now."

"But she's  _happy_." Suzaku glanced up at the television, like it would be playing the newscast again. "And that's more important than anything. Euphy is smiling again and you're alive. If I have to pay a price for that, then it's something worth the cost."

Suzaku wasn't expecting the soft touch to his cheek, nor could he keep himself from leaning into it. He heard Lelouch chuckle softly, not sure what to make of the sound.

"You're the one left out of the deal."

"It's a place I'm used to."

"Not one you deserve." He looked up at Lelouch as he was pushed back onto the couch. 

Suzaku expected immediate action instead of the hesitation that followed. Lelouch was never hesitant, he was decisive. Every move was planned out beforehand, but Lelouch wasn't planning now. He was staring at the floor.

"You said you loved me once."

"I said I love you." That made Lelouch look up from the carpet. Suzaku nodded, reaching up to rest hand on the small of Lelouch's back. "And I meant it."

He was treated to one of Lelouch's rare smiles before he was drawn into a kiss. Suzaku closed his eyes and leaned into it.

This was one of the things he had never had the strength to refuse, and he couldn't imagine starting now.


End file.
